It's not smooth anymore, but superficial - and not nearly as engaging this second go-around. BBC Video has released Hotel Babylon: Season Two, a bare-bones three-disc, eight-episode set that continues the now even less outrageous adventures of the staff and guests of a London five-star luxury hotel. Polished but rather empty this second season, these eight episodes of Hotel Babylon tend to focus more on the staff's interpersonal relationships, rather than exploring the ins and outs of hotel shenanigans (and the strange guests who show up for a night's bit of fun), creating a heavier soap opera feel, while abandoning the light, snazzy atmosphere of the first season.

Having recovered from his gunshot wound from season one's finale, Charlie (Max Beesley) returns to the hotel to find...nothing much changed (a pity for the viewer). Rebecca (Tamzin Outhwaite), his boss, is still kvetching about the demands that her job put on her personal life; Head of Housekeeping Jackie (Natalie Mendoza) is still deeply involved with her largely immigrant work staff (and slightly leery of Charlie's presence since they broke up), Tony (Dexter Fletcher) is still the top concierge in London, able to get anything for anyone at a moment's notice; Anna (Emma Pierson) is still bitching it up like mad behind the front desk with equally bitchy Ben (Michael Obiora); aristocratic snob James (Raymond Coulthard) still regards all of his restaurant guests as beneath his contempt; and bartender Gino (Martin Marquez) is still trying to score with women (unsuccessfully). In fact, the only noticeable change to the Babylon staff is the addition of apprentice doorman Luke Marwood (Paul Telfer), a handsome lunk of a villain who understands immediately the possibilities the Babylon offers for sex and illicit money.

SPOILERS ALERT!

No one was more disappointed in the generally lethargic air of Hotel Babylon: Season Two than I was after watching these eight humdrum episodes. I thought Season One to be a genuine find: a bright, sprightly pop concoction that echoed the best kinds of Hollywood sixties glossy dramas. It gave the viewer some insider information on how big, luxury hotels work, and the camerawork and cinematography were sharp and evocative - just like the energetic cast. But Season Two...just lays there. Perhaps Hotel Babylon was just a one-off; an idea that lent itself to only one good season. It certainly plays that way here with these desultory episodes.

Nothing seems to work quite right here; there's an indefinable hitch in the rhythm and the tone of the piece that marks the once smartly flashy series as now just "flash." No substance. Whereas the premiere season gained relevance not only from its virtuoso lensing and sense of production design style, this go-around is sedate and bogged down with silly, obvious soap opera mechanics. Indeed, Hotel Babylon could be set anywhere now, considering the thoroughly familiar soap elements that permeate the interpersonal dynamics. Much of the "insider" info on luxury hotels has been dropped in favor of working out relationships between the main characters, and quite frankly, they're not interesting enough on their own to sustain the narrowed focus.

There just doesn't seem to be any significant internal conflict within this second batch of shows. Yes, there's a major plot development at the very end of the season where the hotel is almost sold out from underneath the employees (a plot line that would have been better served as the season's main story arc, developed slowly throughout all eight episodes rather than hurried through on the last one), leading to the loss of Rebecca and the ascension of Charlie as the head of the hotel (again, a significant twist that needs more time to register). But that's about it for the entire season. Criminally with a series that depended on giving the viewer something "new" in its dramatics to match the flamboyant camerawork, nothing much happens here in Season Two that viewers aren't already thoroughly familiar with - if they've watched any soaps.

Even the series' slightly naughty attitude (depicting staff and guests going at it at the drop of a hat - yet always within the bounds of decorum) has been simultaneously reduced by less instances of such behavior, and coarsened by more graphic depictions of such acts. What was sophisticated and adult (in the best sense of the word) in the first season, has now devolved into common, obvious sexual burlesques. Even worse, the overt comedy passages in Hotel Babylon, which weren't exactly the first season's strong suit, either, have become even more pronounced - and decidedly even less amusing (lame parodies of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly show up, and Tony's eyes flash green inexplicably in another episode).

Another drawback of Season One - the "message" episode - comes back several times this season, this time dealing with various issues like a Croatian maid who believes one of the guests is an incognito torturer from her former country; the influence of the Russian mob on London society, and Rebecca's regret at the passage of time and what it's done to her high school friendships, among others. And frankly, these so-called "serious" elements don't work any better this time than they did the previous season.

Even the actors look tired and unfocused. Max Beesley, who had a nice, low-key, Michael Caine way about him with the Charlie character, seems pinched and constricted here - perhaps because his character is given so little to actually do. Likewise for the sexy Tamzin Outhwaite, whose Rebecca character is marginalized to the point of window dressing. Even Dexter Fletcher seems bored as Tony (I didn't think that was possible with this fine actor); evidently, he showed what he could do with the character in the first season, and since the writers didn't bother to "grow" Tony, Fletcher seems to have "checked out." Sexy, attractive actresses Natalie Mendoza and Emma Pierson do more of their same shtick this go-around (Natalie is "concerned" all the time, and Anna is "squeaky annoying" all the time), while the peripheral supporting roles vie for air time (the always-enjoyable Raymond Coulthard is actually given more to do here as the snotty James, but disastrously, the writers transform the imperious James into a crybaby prat). With the showy camerawork muted, the obvious, leaden comedy elements increased, and this season's continued insistence on be "relevant" ramped up, the fizz that was Season One of Hotel Babylon, has now gone completely flat in Season Two.

Here are the 8, one-hour episodes of Hotel Babylon: Season Two:

Floor 1
Charlie returns to the Babylon, while Rebecca makes a new friend: the wife of a member of parliament who's hiding out at the hotel when the scandal about her cheating husband breaks. And another hotel has designs on stealing the Babylon's prized treasures.

Floor 2
A bizarre cult books a room at the Babylon...for the end of the world, while a rowdy, raunchy footballer team causes havoc at the hotel.

Floor 3
Anna is floored when an old mate shows up at the hotel...as a newly minted Lady, while Ben has to deal with an old friend who doesn't want their secret past revealed.

Floor 4
Rebecca's old high school chums come to visit - with disastrous results, while Charlie has difficulties of his own, trying to save a broken businessman who wants to work as a bellman.

Floor 5
Jackie finds out the novelist she has admired from afar isn't all he's cracked up to be, while Gino gets involved with a famous glamour girl.

Floor 6
Charlie and Rebecca get together during the staff Christmas party, while Tony deals with the Russian mafia.

Floor 7
Charlie's younger brother is in trouble with the law again, while Jackie has difficulty with Charlie's new relationship...with Rebecca.

Floor 8
A hotel magnate wants to buy the Babylon...and get rid of the entire staff.

The DVD:

The Video:
The anamorphically enhanced, 1.78:1 widescreen video image for Hotel Babylon: Season Two doesn't suffer from any PAL transfer problems; it's bright, clear, and nicely detailed, with a subtly balanced color value.

The Audio:
The Dolby Digital English 2.0 stereo audio mix is adequate if unspectacular, but to be fair, the show is largely dialogue-driven. English subtitles are available.

The Extras:
For this second go-around, there are no extras for Hotel Babylon: Season Two.

Final Thoughts:
A guest who has overstayed his welcome. Hotel Babylon: Season Two is a tired, desultory continuation of the once-snazzy, flashy series. Now merely a familiar soap - and a not particularly interesting one, at that - Hotel Babylon: Season Two certainly won't interest new viewers, while those who have followed it from the beginning will probably take this season or leave it. A rental is about the best that can be suggested - and that's for confirmed fans only. All others can safely skip Hotel Babylon: Season Two.